December 3, 2009


The National Assembly adopted at second reading, December 3, 2009, the Budget of the National Social Security Fund in 2010. The child allowances remain unchanged, or BGN 240 a month. The pension contributions will decrease by two percent. The effect of this change is estimated at BGN 393.5 M less revenue for 2010.

According to the Minister of Labor and Social Policy Totyu Mladenov, the objective of reducing the contribution is to preserve jobs. The government has reached a gentlemen's agreement with the business, he added. If employers fail to abide to the commitment and make redundant a greater number of employees, the Government will reconsider its policy, he pointed out. Our efforts should be aimed at maintaining as many jobs as possible, especially in the first months of the coming year, added the Minister.

People engaged in seafaring occupations will have to self insure, entirely at their own expense, on a selected base between the minimum and the maximum monthly insurance income set for the country.

The ceiling of the monthly pension will remain BGN 700 until the end of 2011. Old people, aged over 75 years will obtain a supplement to their pensions during 2010 in accordance with the parameters laid in the 2010 Budget of the National Social Security Fund. Pensioners will be given an additional 20 percent increase to the pensions they receive from a deceased spouse until June 30, 2010, and from 1 July 2010 on - 25 per cent.

The contribution to the Fund for Guaranteed Claims of Workers and Employees was set at 0.1 per cent. The maximum amount of the secured claims of employees is 720 leva. The National Assembly decided that the Social Security Fund will cover the expenses for health prevention and rehabilitation services, at the condition that the latter are carried out in establishments owned 100 % by the National Social Security Fund.

The Parliament adopted also, at second reading, the budget of the National Health Insurance Fund for 2010. It stipulates that hospitals may enter into a contract with the NHIF for these activities alone for which they have available specialists, working on a primary labor contract. The reserves of the NHIF were set at 5 per cent of the revenues collected from health insurance contributions and transfers for health insurance from other budgets. So far the rate was 10 per cent of these revenues.